|
Seven members of the Libyan National Army were missing, LNA
spokesman Ahmad Mesmari said.
Footage on social media showed people stranded on the roofs of
their vehicles while trying get help in heavy floods as Storm
Daniel hit the cities of Benghazi, Sousse, Al Bayda, Al-Marj and
Derna.
"We were asleep, and when we woke up, we found water besieging
the house. We are inside and trying to get out," Derna resident
Ahmed Mohamed told Reuters by phone on Monday.
Search and rescue operations were ongoing, witnesses
said.Authorities declared a state of extreme emergency, closing
schools and stores and imposing a curfew.
Four major oil ports in Libya, Ras Lanuf, Zueitina, Brega and Es
Sidra, were closed from Saturday evening for three days, two oil
engineers told Reuters.
The prime minister of the interim government in Tripoli,
Abdulhamid Dbeiba, said on Sunday he had directed all state
agencies to “immediately deal” with the damage and floods in
eastern cities.
The United Nations in Libya said it was following the storm
closely and would "provide urgent relief assistance in support
of response efforts at local and national levels".
(Reporting by Ayman Werfali in Benghazi and Ahmed Elumami in
Tripli, Writing by Tarek Amara in Tunis, Editing by Nick Macfie)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
